Hoots, Howls, and Harebrained Schemes
by Light Under My Skin
Summary: Hogwarts has always been interesting, but with the Marauders on their final year, laughs, screams, and pranks are sure to be seen. Through it all, people grow and learn, making mistakes all the while.
1. Chapter 1

Summary (may be subject to change): Hogwarts has always been interesting, but with the Marauders on their final year, laughs, screams, and pranks are sure to be seen. Through it all, people grow and learn, making mistakes all the while. But just because it's a mistake doesn't mean it's unfixable.

Author's Note: I am a young writer hoping to get better, so any and all constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. Thanks ~

Dedication: I've never done this before (dedications) but it seems only fair because this story wouldn't exist without this person. Evermore-kisses is the most amazing author, and although I've failed at her writing style, this story is still written for her. So thank you. ~~ Side note ~~ I wrote that about a year ago, and though we've since lost touch, she still remains one of the most incredible writers on this site. For anyone with some spare time, read her stuff, it's brilliant!

**Creative Note**: Knowing the Marauders, they always have crazy schemes in mind and in action. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them, because I'm not as creative as I'd like to be when I come up with my own ideas.

1

Lily Evans wasn't one of those people that just got up and sprung out of bed in the morning, perky and ready to face the bright sunshine. In fact, she highly despised those people, secretly wondering what was wrong with them, wondering how in the world they could function correctly so soon after waking up. For her, getting up took a slow rise to consciousness before opening her eyes slowly. Sometimes – like today – she still wasn't in the mood to get out of her warm bed and into the cold London air, so she just rolled over onto her side and snuggled a little more into the pillow that her mother had given her for her birthday – old fashioned goose down that took away all of her neck aches from crouching over heavy textbooks. The sun was already shining through her window, landing on her bed and warming her pleasantly, telling her falsely that if she got out of her warm covers, it wouldn't be ridiculously cold.

As if.

She rolled over from her side to her stomach, burrowing her nose into her pillow, relishing the morning as her last day before school starts. School. Hogwarts: her favorite place on earth. School…

Suddenly, everything rushed back to her sleep-addled brain. She was off by one day; _today _was the day that school started, and with all the usual Lily Evans luck, she was already starting it off late. Mimicking those 'rise and shine' people that she mocked so often, she sprung out of bed, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes while rubbing her now-freezing arms. Oh the stupid false hope of a warm ray of sunshine, one that she had densely believed in despite it all. It was so cold that she was about to get back into her warm, inviting bed, already having forgotten why she sprung up like a maniac in the first place, when her eyes landed on the clothes she'd set out yesterday night.

How could she have forgotten!

Rushing now, knowing that she was 'oh so late' as her best friends liked to say, Lily threw on the clothes that were lying there neatly on the floor next to her bed. They were simple Muggle clothes, just some denim jeans, a v-neck shirt and a cardigan, but she warmed almost instantly. Compared to her thin sleeping pants and long sleeved cotton shirt, these seemed like heavy winter clothes, and with the morning chill, it felt even better than the warm blanket she'd just abandoned_._ Good thing she has set them out yesterday night, because she was barley seeing them right now, trusting her I've-been-up-all-day-and-I'm-tired brain more than her I-just-woke-up-and-what-the-heck-is-going-on brain.

It really figures though. The first day of the best year of her life and she was late.

Typical.

A couple rooms over, in the kitchen, Lily could hear Petunia complaining loudly to their mother, "But Lily can… I'm older!… Not fair…"

Even half-asleep, Lily could tell that her twin was talking about Vernon Dursley's upcoming trip to America. She'd been begging to go ever since she found out about it two weeks ago, and the great pig seemed interested in her coming as well. Lily had never – and thought she would never – understood that couple, both from the fact that Petunia was bone thin and annoying and from the fact that Vernon was big, beefy and smelly. How Petunia could stand him, much less want to be near him, was beyond Lily.

Putting Petunia out of her mind, Lily gathered up her things. Her trunk was in the corner of her bare room, looking cumbersome and menacingly heavy. The one thing Muggle's had ever gotten right was their convenient baggage, with their little handles and wheels. Everything about them screamed practical and smart, so much better than the horrible boxy wizard trunks. But the trunks _were _better inside Hogwarts itself. Lily and many of her friends kept them open at the foot of their beds, a place for knickknacks other than armoires and bed-side-tables, which was the only thing keeping Lily from marching into Petunia's room and taking the large wheeled bag she had under the bed.

On top of her trunk was her owl, a saw-whet owl that was one of the smallest she'd ever seen at Hogwarts. His name was Boxer, and he was more of a pet then a mail-carrier. His small body with tufted with brown-and-white feathers and rather large yellow eyes made him very distinguishable from the now-fashionable regal, white-faced barn owls, and although his size made carrying large packages troubling, Lily loved the little furry thing.

"Ready Boxer?" she asked before picking his box up gently. His hoot sounded more like a low whistle, and he ruffled his feathers as if to show anticipation. She'd never tell anyone – people already thought she was crazy enough as it was – but there were several times that Lily was sure that he understood her and responded accordingly. As it was now, he just blinked quickly and tilted his head down to the trunk below his cage.

Even though she'd turned seventeen – the legal age to do magic without supervision – in March, she still wasn't used to it, probably because, for most of the time since then, she'd been in school – the one place where it _was _legal. And after that, she'd spent the whole summer locked up in an apartment with neighbors pressing in on all sides, too close to do something without them noticing. Now that it was almost over though, she was more than ready to levitate the bulky thing straight to the front door – and further if she could.

"Morning Mum!" she shouted after depositing the trunk by the doorway, ignoring how Petunia glared at her when she brought Boxer – in his cage to make her twin happy – into the kitchen, "Morning 'Tuney." Lily said in a lower volume. These days, Petunia exploded at anything Lily said – or even did – and yelling at her so early in the morning would definitely not be received well. As twins, they didn't have much in common, and their biggest tying-factor was probably their joint hatred for any time before 10.

"It's _Petunia."_ Her sister said, but Lily was past listening, humming while passing some jam on her toast, half of which she fed to Boxer.

"Really Lily!" Petunia said, in a way that Lily could practically see the disapproving glare, even with her back to her, "It's an owl, not a dog." Petunia didn't hate owls. Actually, Lily clearly remembered her being excited when Lily first got Boxer – a present to start her second year. Now though, anything to do with Lily was frowned upon by her slightly older sister. Really, if Petunia's superior glares were any indication of how much older she was, people would think there was a separation of years, not the mere two minutes that made her 'older'.

As she often did, Lily simply ignored her sister and kept feeding Boxer. When he was finished and full – she could tell by the way he blinked his eyes rapidly and shrunk his neck into his shoulders – Lily sat back against the kitchen counter and finished the bread. She didn't have anything other than the half that was left and the orange juice her mother had poured for her when she walked in, saving space for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, the Honeydukes chocolate that they'd started serving last year, and Lily's personal favorite, Chocolate Frogs.

"Are you ready to go Lily dear?" her mother said, glancing at her watch slightly before smiling warmly at her younger daughter. Lily didn't know why, but she and her mother had grown apart in the last couple of years. It wasn't that they fought and disliked each other, but Lily's year at Hogwarts and head full of magic acted as barriers. More often than not, Lily realized that she'd avoided spending time with her mother, instead going up to her room to look at her new Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook or that really cool Quidditch book that someone had slipped into her trunk of the last day of term last year. Thinking again about her mother, Lily realized that she'd never really put an effort in. Maybe, after Hogwarts, there would be some time to fix that…

"Bye 'Tuney" she said, smirking slightly at the aggravated sound that came from Petunia's throat before following her mother out into the car. A quick glance at the windows showed that no one was looking and – feeling more than slightly reckless – Lily quickly levitated her trunk into the back of their dark blue station-wagon. Doing this left her heart beating quicker than normal and some odd feeling rushing through her body. Being Hogwarts' known goody-two-shoes, Lily had never felt anything like this, but now that she had, she'd been left wanting more. But there was nothing else to put into the car so, holding on tightly to Boxer, she slipped into the car next to her mother.

Living in London had its perks, and being five minutes away from King's Cross station was definitely one of them. If they had lived anywhere else, Lily would have missed the train, which would result in her having to send a letter to Hogwarts asking for permission to use floo powder to travel to school, considering how, even though she could Apparate, she wouldn't be able to take Boxer with her, much less her heavy trunk. During her first day as Head Girl, Lily knew that would definitely not settle well with McGonagall, who already didn't like her because of several… incidents in Transfiguration class. None of them had been her fault, and Professor McGonagall wasn't under the impression that it was, but she still held a slight dislike for Lily because she considered Lily an 'unnecessary distraction' when it came to certain students.

Not that it mattered though, because her mother was already pulling into the familiar station, rushing to get a trolley as Lily walked to the trunk of the car, groaning as she realized that she'd have to lift the trunk by hand. Adrenalin – as she realized what the feeling was – or not, there were too many people here to try any magic.

Once they got to the now-familiar barrier between platforms nine and ten, Lily's mother gave her a kiss on the cheek and a long hug. Her mother never followed her though the barrier, some Muggle fear keeping her away from the seemingly-solid brick wall. Normally, Lily would be pulling away quickly and rushing through the barrier, but instead, she hugged back, all the while thinking, _'I'll make it up to you someday. We'll be friends again.'_

But she didn't say that, instead settling for a simple "Bye Mum," before stepping into the barrier confidently, Boxer ruffling his feathers in his cage on top of her trunk.


	2. Chapter 2

Summary (may be subject to change): Hogwarts has always been interesting, but with the Marauders on their final year, laughs, screams, and pranks are sure to be seen. Through it all, people grow and learn, making mistakes all the while. But just because it's a mistake doesn't mean it's unfixable.

Author's Note: I am a young writer hoping to get better, so any and all constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

IMPORTANT: Well, I don't know how many of you noticed, but there were some grammatical problems in Chapter 1. I tried to fix them, and I've re-posted the chapter, but as far as proof-reading goes, I'm really, _really _bad. So, if anyone wants to beta this story, that would be more than appreciated! PM me if you're interested, I promise I won't bite

_Note: _It's pretty self explanatory, but the italics are Lily's memory from her earlier memories of Hogwarts.

_Note #2: _A lot of the stories on here have Lily and James as super-rivals, and though Lily doesn't like James in my story, she's not as… opposed to him either. I hope their rivalry still seems natural enough, but I just… I think it's not too possible to hate someone's guts one day and love them the next and, after all, this is a romance story. So yeah. If anyone has problems with that, please let me know, and I'll try to make it a little more… tension-y.

UPDATES: Ok, it's summer time, and I'm going to be busy… like BUSY. I probably won't have time to update this story again after I leave, this Friday. I might update once more before then (depends on the reviews _hint hint!) _but if not, then I won't be updating again until August. I'm so, so, so sorry about that, and I hope all of you stick with me until then. :P

Anyways, enjoy! (Next chapter: James POV!)

2

The smoke from the train made everything a little hard to see, but that didn't bother Lily at all. Actually, she relished the almost-magical quality of the air. She stopped a little away from the barrier – far enough so that the first-years that came whizzing through the barrier wouldn't run straight into her – and inhaled the unique smell of magic, before shaking her head slightly and heading towards the train. It was about to do it's I'm-leaving-now-so-idiot-first-years-better-get-on-board whistle, and she chuckled as she levitated her trunk, hurrying now as she left the trolley next to the barrier. Apparently, the people that ran and maintained the train were thinking about making racks inside the individual compartments that would be able to store the trunks directly above their owners. Several students had reacted quite enthusiastically to that idea, but Lily was vehemently against it, preferring tenfold the way it was now, with one compartment solely dedicated to luggage. That way was much easier for the students to dump them and much easier for the house-elves to take and bring to their rooms. The poor Hogwarts house-elves already had enough work on their hands, placing the luggage in all the separate compartments was an added hassle that they didn't need.

After leaving her trunk, she started walking back down the train, heading down to meet her friends at their usual compartment. The way she saw it, she still had a little time before having to go meet the new Head Boy, whoever he was, and she was planning on eating as many Chocolate Frogs as possible until then.

"LILY-KINS!" a voice screamed, before barreling into her and almost knocking her into an upcoming second-year. The poor boy's eyes widened taking in the scene before him, before scurrying away from Lily and the large black-haired boy enveloping her.

"Shove-off Sirius," Lily laughed, pushing the over-eager boy off of her. Sirius could be quite demanding when he felt like it, but thankfully today was only a mediocre hug-Lily-day, because the immature kid stepped back slightly before smiling down at her. Throughout their years at Hogwarts, Lily, Sirius, and his best-mate James had a sort of rivalry going on, but despite it all, both Sirius and James were affectionate and kind with Lily. Because of this, it was hard to hate the crazy and immature duo, "Where's James?" Even more than Lily and her best friends, James and Sirius were joined at the hips, which made it odd to see one of them, especially Sirius, alone.

She'd almost figured it out when two arms came up behind her, holding on tightly, and shaking her slightly, "LILY!" James screamed, even louder than Sirius had a moment before. But, unlike Sirius, James didn't let go. As he held her, Lily remembered her first encounter with James, on the train on her first day at Hogwarts.

_Being Muggle born and staring at the Hogwarts Express was almost too much for little Lily Evans. She'd already known about magic for more time than most Muggle-borns, but still seeing the proof was more incredible than words – and Lily liked words. Fortunately though, her long-time friend and companion Severus Snape wasn't too amazed for words, "Isn't it great Lils?" he asked excitedly, happier than Lily had seen him in a long time. For Lily, Hogwarts just meant learning and magic, but for Sev, Hogwarts was the place for him to grow and explore away from his abusive, unloving parents. A place for him to finally be himself, right along with Lily. He started pulling her hand, rushing towards the train faster than they could pull the trolley. Lily laughed, pulling him back, "The luggage Sev!"_

_He lifted his trunk with ease, strong and powerful from the happiness. After following some sixth-years and depositing it in the trunk-cabin, he came back to help Lily where she was struggling with hers. Just like a perfect best-mate. _

_After that was done, still smiling like Muggle lunatics, they walked down the train looking for an empty compartment. They were late – thanks to Lily's mother's fear of the barrier – and all of the compartments were taken. After three or four, they found one with two boys as small and excited as them. First-years. _

_When it came to other boys his age, Lily knew that Sev got really nervous and insecure. He'd inherited his mother's looks – not a good thing – and many kids from their neighborhood had mocked him, resulting in an almost incurable shyness. Lily remembered one time, in the playground, where some of her ex-Muggle friends had mocked Sev after he brought Lily a flower. The girls had giggled at the time, but three days later, they'd returned with some boys – who had fancied Lily – and they pushed Sev around, ignoring Lily's feeble protests. All the while, the girls mocked him in such a way that Sev had never had the same confidence around others again. Seeing this in his face still, Lily stepped into the cabin first and spoke to the boys. _

"_Hi." Lily said, "Can we sit here?" _

_The two boys – who hadn't looked up when the cabin door slid open – looked up at Lily. One of them, the one closest to her, had long shaggy black hair and clever features, but Lily's eyes only skimmed over him before resting on the other boy's features. He had clear blue eyes covered by round, wire-rimmed glasses and black hair that was sticking up all over the place. Sev had messy hair all the time, but Lily had never had an urge to smooth it out like she did now with this boy. _

"_Hello beautiful," he said, standing up and looking towards her. There was a slight blush on his cheeks and all Lily wanted to do was walk towards him until she could smell him – something told her that he smelled amazing – but her best-mate stopped her. _

"_Who do you think you are?" Sev said angrily, stepping in front of Lily almost as if he was blocking the boy from her, "Stay away from her!" Lily had never heard Sev like this, angry and scary, and she flinched away from him, an action that the boy caught. _

"_And who are you?" the boy said, laughing unpleasantly, a sound much different from his previously nice voice, "Some wanna-be loser? Get lost man, can't you tell she doesn't care about you?" His voice too, scared Lily, because of the mean words and his hostile glare. And also, deep-down, Lily knew that it scared her because of the meaning behind the words too. She wasn't thick, she could see the way Sev looked at her, and this boy was right. Although Sev was Lily's best friend, she didn't care about him in that way, in the way of romance and marriage and kissing. She had never cared for Sev as much as she cared for this stranger even – and she probably never would. But she wouldn't admit that now – couldn't. _

_So instead, she ignored his meaning and just attacked his words, "Hey! Who are you to say stuff like that! Let's go Sev." _

_The boy looked at her, one long look that made her feel like he was staring straight into her very being, before flicking his wand at the back of Sev's retreating head and murmuring something Lily didn't catch. Once his jinx was done, he spoke to Lily again, "Bye beautiful. Whenever you want to come back, I'll be waiting." _

_Huffing at his cocky manner, Lily retreated after her best-friend's now-pink hair. _

True to his word, James Potter had 'waited' for her. She'd never gone, even after Sev had called her a Mudblood in fifth year, using the excuse of his cocky manner to overcome her feelings for James. After all, for James Potter, it was probably all just a game.

Probably.


	3. Chapter 3

Summary (may be subject to change): Hogwarts has always been interesting, but with the Marauders on their final year, laughs, screams, and pranks are sure to be seen. Through it all, people grow and learn, making mistakes all the while. But just because it's a mistake doesn't mean it's unfixable.

Author's Note: I am a young writer hoping to get better, so any and all constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

IMPORTANT: I am a bad writer, with a lot of grammatical problems. A lot. I try to fix most of them but well… I can't. So, if anyone wants to beta this story, that would be more than appreciated! PM me if you're interested, I promise I won't bite

_Note: _This chapter is really short. I realize. I'm sorry! But I wanted to give James a word and… yeah. So it's short, but I hope you enjoy it!

_Note #2: _A lot of the stories on here have Lily and James as super-rivals, and though Lily doesn't like James in my story, she's not as… opposed to him either. I hope their rivalry still seems natural enough, but I just… I think it's not too possible to hate someone's guts one day and love them the next and, after all, this is a romance story. So yeah. If anyone has problems with that, please let me know, and I'll try to make it a little more… tension-y.

UPDATES: I won't be updating again until August. I'm so, so, so sorry about that, and I hope all of you stick with me until then. :P

Anyways, enjoy!

3

Holding onto Lily Evans was a close to heaven as James Potter had ever gotten. Closer than when he and Sirius had jumped off the astronomy tower and he'd sworn afterwards that his life had flashed before his eyes. Closer even, than when they stayed at St. Mungo's for two weeks after that nasty attempt at eating dragon skin and the doctors said his heart stopped twice. Those were nothing compared to this heaven, heaven in the form of a small redheaded girl with a temper to match her fiery hair. He'd messed it up repeatedly with her, but he'd take back very teasing word, every harmless prank, every mock of Severus Snape, to have her in his arms like this on a regular basis.

Well, maybe not exactly like this. He could do without her cursing and squirming as she fruitlessly tried to get out of his grip, each twist like a knife in his gut. The knife stabbed again and again, reminding him that she wasn't his, that he'd messed up too much, that she'd never love him the way he loved her. Slowly, he set her down, but he didn't let go completely. A full summer without her was the closest form of torture that James had ever experienced, and he'd hated how he had to actively stop thinking about her and pay attention to whatever Sirius was, forcing himself to laugh when before it would come automatically to him. Even a cursing, squirming, complaining Lily was better than no Lily at all, because when she was reacting to his teasing, at least she was paying attention to him.

Quickly, before she could stop it and before he could think about how much she'd hate it and probably jinx him later, he turned her around and pressed her body against his firm chest, burying his head in her messy reddish-brown hair. For just a moment, before she reacted, he pretended that they really were a couple; that his dreams had come true and she cared for him the way he cared for her. The way he always had, ever since that day in the train, the first day he saw her and the first day he messed up. His reaction to her, ever since that day, had been the same thump-thumping in his heart that he had right now, the same that he knew he'd always have, no matter how many other girls he saw or how many more years he lived.

James could feel Lily starting to stir beneath him, so he quickly withdrew his arms from around her and stepped back. Many of the students at Hogwarts called James thick, but he knew when he'd overstepped the line. This was definitely one of those times, and his heart ached to know that. That no matter how much he wished and hoped and willed for her to feel the same, she'd always look at him with slightly narrowed eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Summary (may be subject to change): Hogwarts has always been interesting, but with the Marauders on their final year, laughs, screams, and pranks are sure to be seen. Through it all, people grow and learn, making mistakes all the while. But just because it's a mistake doesn't mean it's unfixable.

Author's Note: I am a young writer hoping to get better, so any and all constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

IMPORTANT: I am a bad writer, with a lot of grammatical problems. A lot. I try to fix most of them but well… I can't. So, if anyone wants to beta this story, that would be more than appreciated! PM me if you're interested, I promise I won't bite

_Note: _It's really short. I know. I'm sorry. But Chapter 5 will be up real soon!

Until then, enjoy!

4

Lily Evans had been surprised many times throughout her life. Heck, she'd been told she was a witch on her eleventh birthday, and even though those same words had been spoken by Severus Snape a few months earlier, getting a paper in the mail was something else. Yet, despite it all, the thing that most surprised her didn't have to do with magic. It had to do with a very handsome James Potter hugging her close to him in the hallway of the Hogwarts Express.

It's not as if he'd never hugged her before, that wasn't what stopped Lily's heart in it's tracks. What surprised her beyond belief was that James Potter – the same boy who had annoyed, teased, pranked, and complimented her throughout the last six years of her life – had a very distinct smell.

Now, some might argue that this was a pointless surprise, as everyone had a distinct smell. But Lily had never actually _smelt _James Potter before, and she'd never seen the need. Knowing the Mauraders, Lily had always expected James to smell like the last exploding fireworks or other various pranks that he'd just pulled, but that was definitely not the case. In fact, he smelled exactly like the Amortentia potion that Professor Slughorn had made for his N.E.W.T. class at the beginning of their sixth year together, a class that both James and Sirius had gotten into, believe it or not. Lily's immediate thought was that James had probably been messing with the cauldron before class – one of the Maurader's favorite habits – maybe even to try to slip some of it into her own drink. Still though, that didn't explain why she was so drawn to it. Even now, she had to force herself to lean away from him when he released her, and her brain was slow on getting back to the present. He was saying something to her, but all she could do was wrestle with her brain – her treacherous brain – that wanted to smell him again, just once more.

"… right?" He was saying, but having lost the rest of the sentence, he could be talking about anything.

"I gotta go," she mumbled, head down and already walking quickly away. She glanced behind her two or three times, aware that she seemed to have totally lost it but too confused to care. Here was a boy that Lily had always known was attractive – anything else would be an outright lie – but had always stayed away from because of his immature actions and words. A part of her had always felt more alive when he was around – probably her mind's natural reaction to all the fighting and thinking she did around him, even though half of the time she was thinking of ways to insult him. Yet now, she'd had to force herself to stop sniffing him.

Once she couldn't see the pair any longer, she ducked into the little indent that cabins make and pressed her forehead against the glass, ignoring the inhabitants of the cabin. More likely than not, they were some first-years cowering away from her form, as if the very presence of her was something they had to shy away from.

If only that was the case.

"Hey look who it is!" a sneering, familiar voice called, "Aww I think the Mudblood has come back to see you Severus!"

Lily tried to ignore Avery's cruel voice, trying desperately to force down all the memories that came with _him_. It was no use; the memory of Severus Snape and his actions of two years past were still too fresh in her mind. Avery's words brought back the memories as if they'd happened yesterday, and Lily could hear him shouting at her, saying those horrible things. For weeks afterward, that word had rebounded in her head, again and again, until it had become a mantra, a dull thrum that reminded her of who he'd become. No longer did she feel a ripping in her chest at the sight of him, now she simply felt hatred, a steely-gazed disgust for the boy who had once been everything to her. The pain he'd brought her was infinitely worse than James Potter and the pranks the Marauders pulled, so much worse than Petunia and the hurtful things she'd said so long ago. Those people, they weren't her friends – but _him. _He was her best friend, just as she had been his, but then he'd said those things to her, unforgivable things no matter how many "I'm sorry's" he threw at her afterwards. He'd become the ultimate backstabber, and he'd transformed her heart into a bleeding mess, something she couldn't fix no matter how much magic she tried. She knew that that feeling would always be there, that she'd never be able to wash away the hurt and horror of the words he'd thrown at her, thrown like they were ordinary things to say, as if he could say them to her every day of the week and stomp on her heart in the process.

"Lily?" he asked, in a voice full of hope that Lily couldn't help but hate him. Hate what he'd put her through, hate what he'd said, and even more, hate that he thought that she would still be there for him after everything he'd put her through.

With one last, hateful glare into the cabin of future Death Eaters, Lily turned and left, resuming the search once more for her friends, shoving Severus, James and everything else out of her mind.

All she wanted now was a Chocolate Frog.


	5. Chapter 5

Summary (may be subject to change): Hogwarts has always been interesting, but with the Marauders on their final year, laughs, screams, and pranks are sure to be seen. Through it all, people grow and learn, making mistakes all the while. But just because it's a mistake doesn't mean it's unfixable.

_Note: _This is my favorite chapter (so far). I hope you like it too

5

Ten minutes later, however, Lily still hadn't found a Chocolate Frog. She knew she could head to her friend's cabin – the same one, every year – but also she knew they could see through any bullshit she tried to feed them. She wasn't able to lie to them in the best of days, she couldn't imagine trying to lie to them now. She could practically picture their concerned looks, as the only tried to care for her better than her own family and, however caring and well-meaning they might be, Lily knew that was exactly what she didn't need right now.

So instead, Lily found her way to the Head's Cabin, curled up away from the door as the day caught up with her. Tears slid down her face, and even though she felt weak and pathetic, she couldn't help it – couldn't stop.

What she'd thought would be the best day and the beginning of the rest of her life was turning out to be the worst.

To top it all off, Lily heard the faint creaking of the door sliding opened, signaling the entrance of another passenger. Trying to quickly wipe her tears away, Lily stopped sniffling at once and held still, even though she knew it was no use. The Head Boy had come to meet her, and his first impression would be of a crying, blubbering girl. Sure, they probably already knew each other, but this was definitely not how she'd planned to meet her male counterpart.

From the door, there was silence for a moment, and she thought she heard some chuckling, although she couldn't be sure. Then, stepping into view, she saw the one person that she knew had no chance of being Hogwarts' Head Boy: James Potter.

Seeing the tears running down her face, his smile instantly disappeared. Gently, James sat down next to her, not saying a word as his eyes cautiously scanned hers. Then, as another tear broke loose from her vibrant green eyes and rolled down her wet cheeks, he tenderly wrapped his arms around her, almost as if he was scared to break her. As soon as she was enveloped in his warmth, Lily couldn't help it: she pressed her fact into his perfect chest, hating herself as she broke down.

Just as he'd done earlier in the hallway, James tightened his arms protectively around her as he rested his head on hers. She could feel his face pressing against the top of her head and – so fleeting that she wasn't even sure whether it ever happened – his lips skimming her hair. His smell, the same one that had overwhelmed her earlier, was present now and even through her tears and misery, Lily relished the scent. Among other things, it was this that kept her sane, calming her down until she was able to stop the flow of tears.

James still didn't say anything, even as she took her last sniffs, pulling away from his warmth as she dried her eyes. He wasn't pressuring her to know what was wrong, or lying by telling her it would 'all be alright.' He was simply there, like the caring person Lily had never known, looking at her with more compassion than she'd ever seen in his eyes.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Been better," Lily heard herself saying, and she couldn't stop the slight smile from adorning her face at his laugh. When James Potter laughed, it was like happiness itself filled the room, lighting it better than the sun ever could. Lily could feel herself wanting to lean back into him, to smell him again, to loose herself in his soothing arms until all the hurt and confusion left her heart, but she stopped herself before she could do such a stupid thing. Her conflicting thoughts were not lost to him, however, and she had to cover up her emotions with a question, "What are you doing here James?"

Almost as if he'd been expecting something else, his face fell slightly, but he quickly covered it by fishing something out of his Muggle jeans. Lily recognized it instantly. It was the same badge that she had pinned to her own shirt, only this time, the Hogwarts crest was decorated with the golden letters "Head Boy" instead of her own "Head Girl" badge.

"Where did you get that!" the goody-two-shoes exclaimed, snatching the badge from the Marauder.

Busy trying to snatch the badge back, he didn't hear her for a second, but when he did, his face fell, "It's mine."

If Lily had been paying attention to the boy's feelings in front of her– not for the Marauder but for the actual _boy _ – she would have noticed that her heart gave a very curious squeeze at his disappointment. Further investigating, as someone as curious as Lily would undoubtedly want to do, she would have realized that she cared for what he thought, for how she made him feel, and – as odd as this would originally be to Lily – she would eventually realize that she didn't want to make him feel anything but happy. As it was, however, Lily was just thinking about the Marauder in James, not the actual boy, which is why she simply snorted. It was quite an unladylike sound, but she was far too busy keeping the medallion from his reach, quite a difficult task considering he was much larger than her. Difficult as well because James, as a Marauder, had many qualities, one of which was a fierce determination. This determination had helped him Captain the Gryffindor Quidditch team, leading them to victory three years in a row, but right now, it was focused on getting his badge back, which was a problem because Lily was just as determined to keep it away from him. It came to a point where James, determined as he was, was almost completely lying on top of her, his smell intoxicating as he whispered in her ear, "Can I please have my badge back, Lily-flower?"

If it wasn't for the ridiculous pet name, Lily wasn't sure if she'd have been able to keep it away from him, especially as his smell enthralled her and her brain refused to focus on anything but that. Anything but that and the nickname, apparently, because it snapped her out of it and reminded her that she was supposed to be attempting to roll out form under him, "Never call me Lily-flower again," she said, craftily ducking and weaving until she got out from under him, "Ever." She'd meant to make her voice fierce and stern, but what came out instead was a breathless, almost giddy voice, full of amusement and excitement.

"Why not Lily-flower?" he said with a mischievous glint in his eye. By now, she'd escaped to the other side of the cabin, and she was currently pressed against the window, hiding the Badge behind her back. Like a panther stalking its prey, he was slowly advancing towards her, with his typical Marauder-style impish grin, "Please?"

Summoning up what was left of her will, Lily shook her head, praying that he'd stay where he was, two steps away. It wasn't that proximity to James was _bad _necessarily, it was just that with his closeness came tainted air. The farther away he was, the more untainted her air was, and therefore she could trust her brain to make a reasonable decision. Still, there was a small, normally unheeded part of her that was begging for him to come closer, so that she could feel his muscled chest and smell his unique perfume.

"Pretty please?" he asked this time, taking a step closer. There was a devilish smile on his face, and Lily could faintly smell his fragrance, but although her brain should have been shouting "_Danger! Danger!" _it was suddenly consumed with the thought about how, if she could bottle up eau-de-James, she'd make a fortune.

Eventually, she reminded that he had asked her a question. She didn't hand it over, but her denial of the badge was that much feebler, and James saw it, "Lily…" he said, almost purring as he took another step. Part of Lily registered that one more would bring his body almost flush with hers, but she couldn't really bring herself to care.

"Lily," he whispered again, taking another step closer. His body was centimeters from hers, and she was practically trembling now. He opened his mouth once more, ready to deliver the final blow, the one that would completely strip away any desire for her to be away from him. As it was now, the two parts of herself were fighting for dominance, but the pro-James part had the upper hand. Maybe it always had. At this rate, he wouldn't have to say a thing before Lily broke. But James wasn't like that, he always had to have the final word, the deciding statement, but before he could utter even a small seductive sound, the door slid open and some very distinctive steps walked into the cabin.

Then, implication heavy, a voice said, "Am I interrupting anything?"


End file.
